Pop Quiz is dead, and it has finally started to sink in.
I try to keep myself busy, so that I won’t think about the show. My parents are all too happy to give me things to do, and I spend a lot of time in the yard, mowing the lawn, weeding the garden and doing a crappy job of repainting some wooden chairs that have been out in the backyard for years.
Satri and I go to the community pool near his house a couple of times, but it’s overrun with little kids and gets boring quick. One afternoon we take the bus to Lake Birch, where there’s a small beach, and that’s a lot more fun. We swim, hang out on the sand and watch girls. It almost feels like we’re normal teenagers again.
One hot afternoon when Satri is busy and my parents have somehow forgotten to give me any chores, I find myself wishing I had something to do. I’d like to hang out with Anais, but I’m too shy to get in touch with her on my own. I know it’s stupid, but I don’t want her to think I’m a loser. It’s just easier to hang out with her and Satri, as a group, at least for now.
I’m bored stiff sitting around the house, so I head out for a walk, going nowhere in particular. I wander through the neighborhood, wondering if some of my old friends are around to play basketball or something. But the sidewalks are empty, and when I get to the basketball court at the elementary school, there are a bunch of kids playing. Too small for me to join in.
I stop and watch them for a few minutes. It’s not long before I’m noticed.
“Hey, Aiden!” yells one of the kids. It’s Sanaa, who is ten and pretty much the leader of the younger kids in my neighborhood. She’s always racing around with a gaggle of followers.
“Shouldn’t you be home getting your TV makeup done?” she asks. The kids who are with her burst out laughing at her stupid joke. Then they all lose interest and go back to their game.
I find myself walking to the movie theater.
I’ve always loved the movies. The smell of popcorn, the comfy seats, the way the chatter dies down as the lights dim and the trailers begin. Best of all, I love being able to forget about the world for two hours. My phone is turned off, and nobody is going to bother me. It’s just me and the big screen.
I buy a ticket for Seven Skills, about a group of teenage superheroes. I like it. It’s a big Hollywood blockbuster, with cool special effects and lots of action. There’s just one problem—the actors. It’s not that they aren’t any good. In fact, they’re great. It’s just that they’re all around my age. Soon I’ve stopped paying attention to the movie and started wondering how they got these parts.
Until Bill told us that we were going to be promoted to big roles for next season, I’d never really thought about acting in the future. Pop Quiz was just a fun thing to do, a neat summer job with lots of cool co-workers. Now I feel like a rug has been pulled out from beneath me, and just like that my acting career has gone up in smoke.
I leave the movie in a worse mood than when I came in. I’m walking through the lobby in a funk when I hear a voice that sounds kind of familiar.
Standing in the concession lineup is Seth March, Pop Quiz’s most famous former cast member. He’s talking to a couple behind him, a man and woman in their early twenties.
“Yep,” he’s saying. “It’s hard to go out without being recognized, even after all these years off the air.”
“This is so exciting,” says the woman. “I’ve never met a real celebrity before. I mean, you see the Pop Quiz kids around town all the time, but you’re big-time! You’re TicTac Tucker!”
I quickly turn so they won’t notice me. I pull my phone out of my pocket and pretend to look at it as I keep listening.
“So what’s the deal?” asks the man. “You just here for old times’ sake? You heading back to Hollywood soon?”
Seth March laughs. “Actually, I moved back here a few months ago.”
“Really?” asks the woman. “Why?” From the tone of her voice you’d think he had just said he’d been sentenced to prison.
“Oh, you know,” says Seth. “I’ve still got friends and family here. It felt like time for a change.”
“Are you still acting?” asks the man.
“I’m between projects,” says Seth. “Trying to keep my options open. I’ve been doing a lot of writing, actually. You never know what opportunities might pop up.”
They reach the front of the line, and Seth turns to the clerk to make his order. I can’t very well keep following him around, so I leave before I’m noticed.
But my mood has lifted. I have an idea.